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Roush denies cheating
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| NASCAR team owner Jack Roush talks during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Tour in Concord, N.C., in this January file photo. Roush denied allegations of cheating on Friday after NASCAR penalized driver Carl Edwards for failing a post-race inspection. ASSOCIATED PRESS |
Edwards’ oil tank cover fell of during race, owner says.
By MIKE HARRIS
Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — Car owner Jack Roush strongly denied any intentional
wrongdoing Friday in the wake of NASCAR penalties that knocked driver Carl Edwards out of first place in the Sprint Cup points and put crew chief Bob Osborne on a six-week suspension.
“Jack is mad,” a visibly upset Roush declared as he strode to a podium Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway to respond to Toyota
official Lee White’s claim in
a published report that
Edwards’ No. 99 Roush
Fenway Racing team had intentionally taken the cover off the car’s oil tank to gain an aerodynamic
advantage.
“He’s a real nice guy,” Roush said of White, a former Roush employee. “I respect him, but he’s also a great racer and would seek any advantage he might think he had an
opportunity for.”
The 99 car failed postrace inspection last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after NASCAR inspectors found there was no cover on the oil tank. Roush Fenway Racing said the cover came off
when a bolt failed during the race, possibly due to
vibration.
White had a hard time believing that could happen.
“I guarantee you the cover bolts didn’t fall out, because if they fall, the engine leaks and you can’t run,” he said in a story published Friday in USA Today. “If you want something to fall off, you fix it so it can.”
White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development, backed off slightly
Friday from his published
accusations.
“Safety is paramount in NASCAR,” he told The Associated Press. “The point (of his published quotes) was, in my opinion, the penalty, because of the safety aspect, could have been more severe. Purely because of the safety aspect.
“Whether it was all done intentionally or not, that’s not my job. That is (Sprint Cup director) John Darby’s job, and he is pretty good at it.
I’m not about to try and help him do his job.”
Edwards was docked
100 points Tuesday, dropping him from the points lead to seventh in the standings. He was also stripped of the
10 bonus points he earned
for the victory that followed a win six days earlier in California.
In addition to Edwards’ penalty, Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended for six weeks, and Roush was docked 100 owner points.
wrongdoing Friday in the wake of NASCAR penalties that knocked driver Carl Edwards out of first place in the Sprint Cup points and put crew chief Bob Osborne on a six-week suspension.
“Jack is mad,” a visibly upset Roush declared as he strode to a podium Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway to respond to Toyota
official Lee White’s claim in
a published report that
Edwards’ No. 99 Roush
Fenway Racing team had intentionally taken the cover off the car’s oil tank to gain an aerodynamic
advantage.
“He’s a real nice guy,” Roush said of White, a former Roush employee. “I respect him, but he’s also a great racer and would seek any advantage he might think he had an
opportunity for.”
The 99 car failed postrace inspection last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after NASCAR inspectors found there was no cover on the oil tank. Roush Fenway Racing said the cover came off
when a bolt failed during the race, possibly due to
vibration.
White had a hard time believing that could happen.
“I guarantee you the cover bolts didn’t fall out, because if they fall, the engine leaks and you can’t run,” he said in a story published Friday in USA Today. “If you want something to fall off, you fix it so it can.”
White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development, backed off slightly
Friday from his published
accusations.
“Safety is paramount in NASCAR,” he told The Associated Press. “The point (of his published quotes) was, in my opinion, the penalty, because of the safety aspect, could have been more severe. Purely because of the safety aspect.
“Whether it was all done intentionally or not, that’s not my job. That is (Sprint Cup director) John Darby’s job, and he is pretty good at it.
I’m not about to try and help him do his job.”
Edwards was docked
100 points Tuesday, dropping him from the points lead to seventh in the standings. He was also stripped of the
10 bonus points he earned
for the victory that followed a win six days earlier in California.
In addition to Edwards’ penalty, Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended for six weeks, and Roush was docked 100 owner points.
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